Burros blast Antelope Valley for first win

RIDGECREST — Burroughs picked up its first win of the season on Friday night, and did so in dominant fashion.

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

RIDGECREST — Burroughs picked up its first win of the season on Friday night, and did so in dominant fashion. The Burros scored on their first three drives against Antelope Valley and never looked back in a 43-20 win at Sherman E. Burroughs Stadium."We played hard and we knew we were going to come out and win — we were confident," running back Tyron Jones said. "We all wanted to prove that we were better than we had been playing."Burroughs (1-2) got a stop on the game's first possession and its offense opened the scoring with a 68-yard touchdown drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown run by Jones.On the score, it appeared Jones was stopped near the line of scrimmage before he emerged from a pack and ran free into the end zone. The touchdown put Burroughs ahead 7-0 less than five minutes into the game."I went through the middle, they were holding me and they had me a little bit," Jones said. "Then I just went high knees through, I pushed and I scored — I found the hole."After an Antelope Valley punt, Burroughs needed just three plays to drive 84 yards and add to its lead. The second play was a pass from quarterback Ryan Sanford to Jones in the middle of the field that Jones turned into a 67-yard gain. On the next play, Sanford found receiver Mekhi Ayers on a slant route for a seven-yard touchdown to put Burroughs ahead 14-0.An interception by linebacker Kevin Burgess gave Burroughs the ball on the Antelopes' 21-yard line to start its next drive. On third-and-long, Sanford threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Jones that made it 21-0 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.Early in the second quarter, Burroughs' defense increased its lead. From his linebacker position, Jones teamed with lineman Austin Groshens to tackle Antelope Valley quarterback Maurice Hawkins in the end zone for a safety that put the Burros up 23-0.After picking off a Sanford pass on the ensuing drive, Antelope Valley (1-2) showed signs of life. Andrew Alegria came in at quarterback and the Antelopes quickly moved down the field, scoring their first points on a 47-yard carry by running back Cameron French with 7:11 left in the first half. Aside from the long run, the Antelope Valley back carried the football 13 times for -3 yards on Friday night."French couldn't get loose — we squeezed him and we made him stop his feet," Burros head coach Todd Mather said. "We had some big hits on him — we knew he was the guy to stop."Burroughs answered that score with an 80-yard touchdown drive that featured heavy doses of running to the right side of the Antelope Valley defense. On the eighth play of the drive, Jones scored on a one-yard run that made it a 30-7 game. Burroughs found the end zone once more before halftime, a nine-yard pass from Sanford to Biggie Hernandez with 1:06 left in the second quarter. After an Antelope Valley fumble, the Burros chose to take a knee to run out the final minute of the first half. By that time, Burroughs had opened up a commanding 37-7 lead."We were in our right element — we're going fast on offense and our defense is going to blitz a lot, be vicious and put their hats on ballcarriers," Mather said.The game screeched to a halt in the second half, and Burroughs still maintained a 30-point lead after a scoreless third quarter. Antelope Valley scored twice in the fourth quarter, but the result was never in doubt. Running back Adan Peña put the finishing touches on the victory, scoring on a 23-yard run with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter.Coming off a bye week, Burroughs delivered a stellar performance to pick up its first win of the season. The Burros played with more consistency and showed improvement from their first two games of the season."We had two great weeks of practice, and I felt good that we were prepared and ready to get after it," Mather said.Burroughs plays its next four games on the road, a stretch that starts at Apple Valley next Friday at 7 p.m. "It's huge — we had to have a win," Mather said. "We wanted to have a good showing in front of our fans before we leave for a month and we did that."